Death Proof
by Erzsebeth Bathory
Summary: David's world had been shattered after what happened in the Emerson household. He had lost everything and he himself was lost... until a stranger with her own dire secrets discovered him, and offered to help him.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **_The Lost Boys _is copyright (c) Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. and all others associated with legal rights.

**Author's note: **Hello! This is a Lost Boys story I've written with one of my buddies over on Tumblr almost a year ago. My partner-in-crime for this fic is the epic and awesome **XDavien**! Since we had so much fun writing this, we decided to share it with our fellow LB fans. It's a story focusing on David and it takes place shortly after the events of the 1987 movie. Please enjoy the first chapter and let us know what you think!

* * *

><p>"Death Proof"<p>

* * *

><p>Time had become an elusive thing. Undetermined. Unquantifiable. David wasn't sure how long it had been. How many hours. Days. If it had even been days at all. All he knew was that he had woken up at Michael's house after their fight, impaled and in agony. It must have been sheer determination that allowed him to lift his body off of those hateful antlers. The sickening pull in his chest and the wet, slurping noise as they finally came out. The pool of blood below him being joined by more. Pain unlike any he had ever felt searing through every fiber of his being. Somehow David managed to stumble out of there on his own.<p>

In his rage over what had happened to Marko, he had been blinded. He underestimated the group of fumbling children. And that was his undoing. After being left for dead, but barely surviving, he stumbled outside, not knowing if Dwayne or Paul had made it out or not. He had seen what looked to be Dwayne's body on the floor, the memory of that continued to haunt him. He would get revenge. Eventually. Now, he had to recuperate. Everything had been so disorienting. He had managed to find some blood and had taken refuge in the cave, hoping that his brothers would find their way back… If they even could.

And now he was standing outside of Max's store. David wasn't sure exactly why, he had just ended up there. Perhaps by habit. Perhaps out of hope that the head of their pack was still alive. It was crazy to hope that Max was just fine and already back to work. No, everything was different now. David's world had been shattered. So here he was, feeling completely broken and betrayed, looking for help from his leader who wasn't there.

He slouched against the side of the building, dejected. A sharp inhale sounded through the night when his injured back made contact. He could feel the sticky wetness there, clinging to his shirt. Damn… He was still bleeding out. A cut or scrape was easy. It would heal overnight. But this… This was going to take longer. He looked up, his face a mask of pain, as he stared at the night sky. The stars. They made him feel insignificant. How vast and steady they were. How they would endure and watch all of the bullshit happening in the world. Untouched. He wished he could be like that. That he could just shrug everything off and be unaffected. But he couldn't. So quickly he had lost everything. David even felt that way, himself. Lost.

* * *

><p>The beach was empty and not a single bonfire could be seen. The edge of the boardwalk was desolate without the tourists and locals milling about like they would during operating hours. Dressed in a thick, khaki colored jacket, dark pants, sneakers, and gloves, one might assume Jane Darling was an out-of-state visitor who was overly prepared to venture into a bleak and frosty climate that Santa Carla, or the Bay Area in general, would never endure. In actuality, she was very much a resident of the town but spent much of the summer away from the crowds, preferring to go out when it wouldn't be heavily occupied and offered few chances of being in contact with people.<p>

As she walked along the shoreline, she tilted her head up and saw it was a magnificent and breathtaking night, nature's masterpiece waiting to be painted. She reached up and stretched her hand high above her head, trying in vain to reach a single one of the many countless stars in the sky. She often wished she could just fly away and leave the world behind.

With a faint smirk, she lowered her hand back to her side, decided to return to reality, and wandered over to the pier located right by the boardwalk. It consisted of a street built over a wooden platform above the water. It was lined with shops and restaurants, all of which were closed until tomorrow.

Didn't her roommate, Maria, work somewhere around here? Jane's eyes studied the various signs that adorned the buildings until she saw one that read "Video Max." Yeah, that would be the place right there.

Jane suddenly froze in her tracks when her line of sight fell from the sign and onto the person dressed in black slouched against the building. From what she could tell, he looked roughly around the same age as her, with platinum blond hair fashioned in a mullet haircut. He was heavily dressed himself despite the otherwise pleasant weather this seaside town had to offer. On the wall behind him, Jane spotted what looked like some streaks of... blood...?

She drew in a sharp breath but her feet were planted in her spot. She was more than well aware of the infamous "Murder Capital of the World" nickname the town was bestowed with once upon a time, and she would have assumed he was just another poor victim, if not for the fact that he was actually looking up at the skies, the same skies she had been staring at not even ten minutes ago.

Ideally, Jane would not allow herself to be in close contact with anyone, often fearing for _**their**_ safety, often forcing herself to become detached because of it. However, there was something about the way this boy looked, with his face etched with agony and pain (beyond the physical aspect he was probably enduring at that moment) that made her want to relate to him.

She should go and find a payphone and call for help. After all, she didn't know this person or if he was alone. If someone did this to him, they might still be around...

Her gut instinct told her that he was alone, and deciding to go against her usual code of keeping away from others, she hurried over to his side. Her shoes scruffed against the platform, making enough noise so as not to startle him. Then she knelt down beside him, keeping an arm's length away, and figured if anything, she could at least get some information from him before she took off to call for help.

"Can you hear me?" she asked him. She certainly wasn't going to ask if he was okay, because if that blood on the wall behind him was any indication of his health, she knew he wouldn't be. "What happened to you?"

* * *

><p>The unchanging stars twinkled on as David watched them for an unknown amount of time. At some point in his exhaustion he had slid down the side of the building, leaving a trail of blood behind smeared along the wall. And yet his chin remained raised up, not caring about his wounds, his mind lost in the constellations above him.<p>

The only thing that distracted his mind from its wandering was the sound of footsteps approaching. He didn't bother to look up, figuring it was just another annoying security guard, probably one that knew of him and the boys and wanted to give him shit for loitering. Or just for being there; they relentlessly got kicked off the boardwalk for causing too much trouble. What fun was an immortal life and all that power, if you couldn't do what you wanted and have a little fun?

Those were his assumptions until he heard the soft, feminine voice… Definitely not one of the boardwalk's security guards. It contrasted so much with how he was feeling that he almost wondered if he imagined it. What did they ask? If he could hear them? With some confusion on his features, he turned to face the voice, wondering if anyone was even really there.

The streetlight behind the woman illuminated her blonde hair and gave it the look of a halo, as if an angel had come for him. Even though her face was shadowed he could still see that she was a pretty girl. And not just your normal every day kind of pretty. It was the kind of pretty that those actresses had in old films. A classic beauty that just couldn't be mimicked by modern girls and all their makeup, revealing clothing, and… Harshness. There was nothing harsh about this person in front of him. There was a softness about her features, like an artist had taken the time to painstakingly paint every line and curve. But the most alluring thing about her was her eyes. There was a gentleness, a soulfulness, there. The concern she held for him, a stranger in a strange town, was in those large brown doe eyes, as was a hint of sadness. The depth of them made it hard not to stare. He blinked a couple times, almost forgetting the pain for a moment.

David moistened his lips before speaking, his voice coming out a little more gruff than usual. "What happened to me? Well, that's a long story. And really, Goldilocks, I'm fine. Don't worry 'bout me."

He gave her a crooked grin and sat up straighter, leaning forward. The grimace he made while doing so showed that the statement was false. The color on the wall caught an eye and he looked back at his blood there, another telltale sign that he wasn't 'fine'. Pale blue eyes lingered on the glistening red as he took in a deep breath. David looked back, wearing a guilty grin while raising his eyebrows and shoulders slightly.

"Well, maybe I'm not one hundred percent, perfectly fine. But I'm not concerned about me. You on the other hand… What's a girl like you doing out here late at night and all alone? It can be a dangerous place, you know."

Jane was certainly more than aware of how dangerous this town could be. She was lucky she didn't add onto the ever mounting numbers of deaths that Santa Carla was gruesomely known for due to her curse. Besides her roommate and the various under-the-table jobs that involved little interaction with anybody, Jane did well with keeping away from others, whether they were the friendliest looking people she could ever meet or the shadiest. She was proud she was able to keep in control. So what was it about this battered and broken looking person that drove her to venture out of her safe zone? She had to admit, he did have such a smooth sounding voice in spite of his current physical condition. She could imagine him smooth talking his way out of plenty of jams. And his eyes, they reminded her of ice. They could look right at you and you would freeze in your spot. In this case, the ice has melted some and she was allowed to wade just a little deeper into the depths.

"Come on," she said, ignoring his question about being alone. She leaned in closer and with her gloved hands, she carefully patted his shoulder to make sure he wasn't injured there. When she didn't see him wince in response, she lifted his arm very carefully and ducked her head underneath so that his arm draped across her shoulders.

"We're going back to my place," she explained matter-of-factly as she tried to ignore the putrid smell of blood coming from his chest. What the hell did he do to get himself this mangled so badly? She used all of her strength to carefully pull him away from the Video Max wall and up to his feet. Though she was rather on the petite side, not even 5'3", she was a lot stronger than people gave her credit for.

Up close, this guy was roguishly good looking. The stubble on his face was a nice touch, too. The earring he wore was rebellious and yet it suited him. If he wasn't so beat up, he truly could come across as menacing. Unfortunately, as of now, he didn't look like he could harm a fly. That right there sounded very wrong.

"I don't live too far away from the boardwalk," she explained as she proceeded to help him slowly walk while supporting him. However her tone developed a slight hint of steel when she added, "Hurt or not, please don't consider trying anything that will land you in a worse condition... but..."

She then smirked. "With that lovely warning out of the way, my name is Jane. Save the Tarzan jokes because otherwise you'll just end up being thrown into the ocean here... What's your name?"

David didn't refuse to let her help him, and the assistance in standing was actually a lot of help. He knew that he would have struggled getting himself back up off the ground and with no little amount of pain involved, either. Walking was something that he could have done on his own, but he continued to let her help him. The truth of the matter was that he really liked being this close to her, to have his arm around her, even if it was just to assist him in walking, and even if they were complete strangers. There was something about her that he liked right away. Maybe her willingness to help him. To have another living soul reach out to him in such a way at a time when he needed it the most. He was just thinking of giving up on the whole damn lot. All of humanity and all the other creatures that go bump in the night. Being betrayed can leave a person very bitter. The last girl he liked, didn't want anything to do with him after finding out what he was (in all fairness probably trying to turn her into a vampire against her will had something to do with it), and the last person he tried to invite into the family unraveled it. If she hadn't come along when she did, David may have very well become a bitter recluse, getting more and more angry. This girl actually calmed his nerves, somehow. Just having her there with him.

He didn't know why she wasn't taking him to a hospital, and didn't ask. He was grateful for it. If she had tried, this little encounter would have had to come to a crashing end. What's a doctor going to do with a vampire? That was the last place he would go. But, it was unusual that she wouldn't automatically take him there. He wondered if perhaps there was more to her than met the eye, if there was some reason she would also be repelled from such a place. Even in his weakened state he could sense something about her. Something that made her… Different.

Her self protective statement caused an amused raise of the eyebrows and the flicker of a smile, as he paused to look directly at her. The girl had moxie and spunk; David liked it. And when she grinned it brightened up her face and caused the most beautiful contrast of the happiness on her lips mixed with the sadness in her eyes.

He outright laughed when she added the threat, pressing his free arm against his chest from the pain it caused in his lungs. Oh man, was he going to be getting himself in trouble with this one. He couldn't not tease and torment others. Well, possibly at the moment he wasn't as up for teasing as he usually was.

Starting to walk again and letting her lead him to her place, he slyly grinned, despite how he was feeling just minutes ago. "Happy to meet you, Jane. The name's David. And I will try my best to behave myself, scout's honor."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: **Thank you to the readers who've taken the time to read the first chapter of this story and leave reviews! Sorry for the delays with uploading this chapter. Please enjoy! C&Cs are more than welcome!

* * *

><p>Chapter Two<p>

* * *

><p>They reached Jane's front door and David waited for her to unlock it, curious to see her place and get to know her better. He didn't even care whether or not he would get a formal invitation, as he had no intention of using his powers on her. All of his trickery and deception had gotten him nowhere. Maybe this time if he went against his usual actions, things would be different.<p>

After a dull click was heard, Jane turned the knob and pushed the door open. It groaned loudly as it slowly revealed a dark living room on plush carpeting, with the only source of light coming from the broken blinds off to the side. Upon taking her key back and stuffing it into her pocket, she gave a quick glance over to David and announced, "Welcome to my home sweet home."

Unknowingly she had granted access entry to a vampire. Though all she was concerned about was seeing how to tend to her new acquaintance's wounds and praying that nothing disastrous occurred because of her. She had very little time to believe in the unordinary when she herself was anything but ordinary.

Once she guided David indoors, she closed the door and locked it securely. The lights were flipped on and a couch large enough for one person to sleep on became visible. The living room itself wasn't very big. It was enough to fit the couch and a basic entertainment center with a TV and stereo system. Jane wished she had put away her laundry before she went out on her walk, as a rather heavy stack of it was painfully visible and piled up in a corner. Maria must had put them there before taking off for the weekend with her latest boyfriend, bless her.

"I'm going to get the first aid kit," Jane said as she led David over to the couch, where after she sat him down, she released her hold over him. She would have to convince him to remove his jacket and shirt if she was going to see how bad the damage was he sustained. "I'm no expert on patching up others, but if I can do enough to get you looking – and smelling – decent, then you can do whatever it is you need to do to take care of the rest."

Turning her back to him, she apologized. "Sorry I didn't take you to the hospital. They make me nervous."

She said nothing more as she went off to the bathroom to fetch what she needed. Bad experiences, religious beliefs – whatever excuse she came up with in the past, they often worked. She never needed to lie more than she had to. Brief explanations worked best. David better not be the nosy type. Then again, his wardrobe alone suggested that he most likely harbored a few secrets of his own.

What was it about him she wanted to know more about? Curiosity killed the cat, after all. She would know better than most. It wasn't every day she came upon someone like him with quite a story to reveal without having said much of anything, other than a fantastic wound she imagined she would be viewing very shortly.

When Jane left the room to retrieve the first aid kit that was earlier mentioned, David contemplated his current situation. She would need to see the wounds in order to administer first aid. The injuries themselves would have healed enough by now to not be gaping holes going straight through him.

David pulled at the neckline of his tee-shirt, viewing the exit wounds. They weren't much more than a pair of scabbed over circular marks the size of a quarter. The wounds on his back, however, would be much more gruesome. They had to still be pretty bad as he was bleeding from it.

Jane most certainly would be confused at how it looked as though he had been gored. Not to mention the differences of vampires' blood. She had already noticed how pungent it was, but there would be no way she wouldn't notice it's slightly different appearance. In the alley where they met it was dark. The shadows hid the shimmering purple tinge of his blood. It had just looked like a dark smear along the wall behind him. But here, in her apartment with the lights shining, she would see.

David's first reaction was that he would just trick her mind into seeing nothing out of the ordinary. Jane had invited him in, he could do just that. But wasn't he just reminiscing of how detrimental his usual instincts were when it came to such things? Wasn't he just telling himself that he didn't want to have another react the same way that Star did?

With a sigh of resignation, he decided to just get it over with. Let her see him for what he truly was right off the bat. If she went running, so be it. But maybe… Just maybe, she wouldn't. And he didn't really expect her to, she didn't seem the type to scare easy.

He slowly started to pull his gloves off one by one. Looking up as Jane entered the room with her supplies, the brooding look fell from his face. She had left the room too quickly for him to respond to her earlier statement.

"It's a good thing you didn't take me to the hospital, you don't need to apologize for that." He wondered what exactly caused her to be so nervous at hospitals. Germs? Death? It would have to be something far more mundane than his reasons… Or so he thought. "I also don't do well with hospitals. I'm not exactly…" He searched for an appropriate word. "Normal."

Arching his back, David shrugged his coats off, thinking of how they must have puncture holes in them now. And they were his favorites. Another thing that added to the fuel that fired his rage over what Michael and his friends did.

David started to peel his shirt off, wincing as he got half way there, it wasn't all that comfortable to raise his arms overhead. He paused in the action and gazed at her, eyebrows arched as he smiled mischievously.

"A little help?" The thought of getting this girl (who seemed somewhat reluctant to be helping him in the first place) to undress him was far too amusing to not try.

Jane had taken a seat on the other side of the couch while David did his best to undress. She kept herself busy by going through the first aid kit to see what would be needed. If anything, she would be going through quite a bit of sterilized dressings and bandages. The question was, would she have enough? Judging by the blood on the wall where she found David earlier, she wondered whether or not she was over her head by attempting this.

That was when David's voice pulled her away from her thoughts. Glancing up from the kit, she turned and saw his predicament... and that smile of his.

He had such a stunning smile.

Wait a minute! What the hell was she thinking?

Jane scoffed at her thoughts and set aside the supplies in order to assist him. She had been wanting to avoid this part, but there was no choice now. She could either be standoffish and let David struggle and reopen his wounds, or she could be hospitable and help. Under normal circumstances, she supposed a normal heterosexual female would jump at the opportunity to "handle" a slick guy like David.

_Too bad I'm anything but normal,_ Jane thought amusingly, knowing that even engaging in something mundane like dating was out of the question for her.

She rose from the sofa; seeing as how she never once removed her gloves or her jacket since arriving home, she decided she was covered well enough to proceed with helping him. With care, it didn't take long to have him shirtless, and when she had him maneuver to a comfortable position, she witnessed first hand the shocking nature of his injuries from his backside alone.

Stab wounds that oozed with blood were seen in various places along his back. It looked as if he'd been ran through with something very long and very sharp - over and over again. Blood continued to slowly leak from his wounds and drip onto the couch upholstery. The smell hadn't improved since David's shirt and coat were removed, but she wasn't so concerned about that as opposed to the damage itself. She had yet to notice the (healing) exit wounds on his chest, because there was so much going on with his backside. The blood was vibrant, almost alive, against his pale skin.

So many questions sprung up for her, but Jane asked none of them. Instead, she started moving, grabbing the bandages and dressings and proceeding to work on addressing the bleeding. She wasn't a medical expert by any means but seeing such wounds on David made her sick to her stomach, and not to mention angry. Would in their right mind could do this to him? Why? What happened?

David noticed her hesitation as she approached him to assist with the shirt removal. Jane was a mystery. One that he wanted to unravel. She seemed so reserved and standoffish, and yet she had approached him on the street and brought him home with her. From what he had seen so far, it didn't seem like that was a common practice of hers. And yet she showed him compassion. Why?

Maybe she was just wary of strangers. And a person really couldn't be too careful in the murder capital of the world. Especially when they were in the presence of one of the individuals responsible for that title. Perhaps it was just her compassionate nature that allowed him to receive some help. And maybe it was fateful that their paths crossed.

David looked over the room they were in. It was neat, tidy… Clean. The cushions and carpeting gave it a comfy look. And he could just imagine how great a hot shower would feel. Luxuries he wasn't used to. Jane's abode was definitely nothing like the cave. The resort was fun and all, but this was also good. It was a nice change, even if he would only be enjoying it for a brief time. Blue eyes shot over to the window, to the crack in the blinds. A reminder that there was a time limit on this.

As Jane tended to his wounds, he couldn't help but notice her gentle touch on his back. David's mind wandered, imagining how it would feel to have those gentle hands gliding across his back. Huh. There she went again, causing him to forget his current predicament. A distraction he welcomed. David craved to feel the touch of her fingertips against his skin, trying to imagine the gloves away. Why would she still be wearing them? Again he wondered if she was a germaphobe and didn't want to expose herself to him. And, actually… He did have something in his blood that was catching. He couldn't really blame her for not wanting to get blood on her hands.

David turned his head, looking over his shoulder at her, seeing the expression she wore. The surprise on her face was something he expected, the anger was not. She was actually pissed that he was hurt? He was liking her more and more.

"So, are you scared of germs or are you just always cold, like I am?" His body inadvertently shivered, unaccustomed to being without several layers of clothing on.

"You can say... both..." Jane replied, trying to concentrate on getting the rest of the blood wiped up. David had a rather strong backside, not to mention firm muscles. She imagined she would have to poke him really hard in order to get him to even flinch. He wasn't overly muscular like some guys she had seen walking around the boardwalk, but he wasn't super lean, either. He had a good build to him – from what she saw, anyhow.

Though she worked quickly but delicately on cleaning the wounds on his back, she was already running out of bandages. She needed to check out the entry wounds on his chest. The nearest store was just down the block, and they would have the supplies she needed to continue properly tending to him, but she didn't want to leave an acquaintance in her home, even though nothing had gone amiss so far. She actually wanted to learn more about David (particularly what he had done to get himself hurt like this) and what made him tick. Most importantly, she wanted to learn what it was about him that made her come out of her protective shell. Her success to surviving was keeping everyone at a distance, but here was this mysterious person she found, who most likely attracted more trouble than anything... and it made her wonder...

"Don't get too excited now," Jane announced coyly to David, a faint glimmer of amusement flashing in her eyes. She had finished what she could with his back. It wasn't a complete, sopping mess like it had been when she first saw it. "I'm gonna have to look at your chest and see if it's salvageable."

She drew away from him in order to dispose of the bloodied dressings. She would have to make sure to take out the garbage before Maria returned in a couple of days, so no suspicions would arise. Her mind wandered back to how physically close she was with David. It had been a very long time since she felt the touch of another person like that. Even with the act of applying first-aid, she could only recall the last person she touched, which had been a very long time ago, and how it ended up a disaster.

Before she knew it, she was standing between his legs, having him lean back as far as he could do so comfortably, so she could examine his chest.

"Wait a second," she began, a perplexed look shown on her face. The damage on his chest was nowhere near as grisly looking as his backside. In fact, other than the circular scabs, there was no real indication that he had gotten hurt unless someone were to check his other side. She bent down to get a closer inspection. She even used the tip of her gloved finger to carefully trace around the scabs, which were no bigger than coins.

How was this possible...?

And there it was. The look of suspicion, the confusion on her face. Soon the questions would start. Soon two and two would add up, but there would be no way she would figure out the answer. But she would know, in fact, she must already know that something wasn't exactly normal about David. He knew this would happen when he followed her home, and had resigned himself to let it ride out as long as it could before leaving her be. But now that it was happening, he didn't want it to.

His mind raced for a moment, trying to figure something out. Like a drowning man coming up for one last, futile gasp of air, before sinking. He could possibly try deceiving her, tricking her mind into seeing something else. But it was too late. Jane would only question that even more now. And he had already settled on not doing that again. It didn't end well before, and he wouldn't be repeating the same mistakes. And yet, coming right out and telling her the truth seemed impossible. How would she ever believe him, without seeing proof? And that's the last thing he wanted to show her. He liked the girl, so he didn't really want to scare the bejesus out of her. And if there was any way of letting her know what he was and her actually believing it, what then? David highly doubted she would want much to do with him then. Would probably go running from him, if she were to know what he really was.

So, then, this was it… Unfortunately. The limited time he had with her was already running out, and it was no fault of the sun's. He would have to leave and try not to look back. Try to forget all the feelings she had stirred within him. It hurt just thinking that it was over, before it had ever really begun. And yet there she was, speeding up his heart by being so enticingly close to him, leaning down and peering at the wounds on his chest.

David lips turned up into a sad smile. "Well-" One shoulder shrugged as his head tilted toward it. "-I knew this would have to end sooner or later."

He became very serious, looking at her with admiration. Not even a hint of mocking, sarcasm, mischief, or slyness in his features. "Thank you, Jane. For everything you've done for me."

His eyes bore into hers for a moment, before he decided what he wanted to do. What he needed to do.

Hell, if he was going out, he was going out with a bang. If he ended up being thrown in the ocean, so be it. He acted in a split second; encircling her waist with one arm and bringing her down closer to him in a sitting position on his thigh. His other hand dove underneath her hair and rested firmly on her neck as he brought her face to his. With closed eyes he came in closer to plant his lips on hers, but then paused right before stealing a kiss.

There was an odd sensation on his hand where it made contact with the soft skin of her neck. He ran his thumb across the back of her jawline, feeling it there as well. He furrowed his brows in confusion, but his eyes remained closed. Never had he ever experienced anything like this. It was a strange kind of a pulling sensation, like they were magnetized and attracted to each other. It wasn't like his hand was stuck to her, but he could sense that it was an energetic pull. He figured he could fight it, but didn't. It wasn't a bad sensation; if anything, he kind of liked it. He tilted his head and rested his forehead against hers, their noses touching side by side, the peak of his upper lip just grazing against hers. The feeling intensified, it almost made his brain buzz. David wasn't sure if she was able to read his mind, or what it was that she was able to do, but he was sure something was happening. He gave into it, into her.

Jane was so close to him that he could feel the warmth of her skin, the moist air of her exhales against his lips. He could smell the sweet scent of whatever products she used on her face and in her hair. He breathed in deeply, savoring the moment, before finding her lips with his own. David's arm held her close to him, his hand grasping her hip. His lips overlapped hers as he moved his mouth against her warm, silky lips. Everything else melted away. Nothing mattered. In this moment all there was, was her. And if he felt like a drowning man before, he now felt as though she was rescuing him. David realized with absolute certainty just how much he needed her.

The very moment David's eyes bore into hers, there was no turning back. She was compelled to be still for him even when she should have moved away. She should have kept her distance. She should have just left him be at Video Max. There was no mistaking that David had such an effect on her that was undeniable. She wasn't sure what it was, but it was nothing she ever encountered before.

There was a hitch in her breath when he thanked her and then took a hold of her. She whispered, "No," but it was a half-hearted plea if anything. Truly, she feared for him, not of him.

When she was pulled onto his thigh, her heart began to race. It was when he touched the back of her neck did she swear her heart stop for a moment. She experienced brief flashbacks to when people touched her in the past: anybody who touched her skin, let along just grazed her, was drained of their energy. She stole their life force without hesitation, and there was nothing she could do about it. For them, it was like getting an electric shock, only that person couldn't pull away until she let them go. Not only did she steal their life but she also was able to see into their memories. Their most cherished thoughts and feelings were revealed to her. They were an open book to her, whether she liked it or not. So when David willingly touched her flesh, she was so caught off guard that she could not say or do anything.

However...

David was _not_ hurt. He did _not_ have a violent reaction like everyone else did. There was a pull of his life due to her power at work, but it was more of a gentle tug than anything. He was drawn to her as she was drawn to him. It slipped into her own being and at the same time, David was not harmed. The longer he touched her so soothingly, the more she was able to delve into his mind. It almost frightened her, only because this was the first time this has ever happened to her. It scared her and captivated her.

Jane even breathed a sigh of relief when his lips claimed hers. Instead of pushing him away, she allowed him to pull her even closer. It had been such a long time since anyone kissed her. The last kiss she received was from her middle school crush: a gawky french kiss.

What David was doing to her was anything but gawky nor inexperienced. It was a rather sweet kiss but full of magnetism in so many ways.

Her hands settled upon his shoulders while she became lost to his touch and to his memories. Vision after vision appeared and disappeared before Jane's very eyes. She first witnessed a faceless girl – pale, crumpled, and lifeless – in David's arms.

She saw David leading a group of radically dressed boys along the boardwalk at night, all acting as if they owned the place, without any cares or worries in the world.

She saw Maria's boss: a tall, middle aged man who wore glasses, inside Video Max.

She saw a boy with curly brown hair being taunted by David.

**_"How far are you willing to go, Michael?"_**

Rivulets of blood ran down David's chin and neck. His eyes were the color of amber as they shined in the darkness. Sharp fangs were seen behind lips that were pulled back to form a cruel smile.

Dear God...

What was he...?

**_"My blood is in your veins!"_**

Like whiplash, she was thrown into the next memory without warning. There, she watched helplessly, and in mute horror, as David was impaled upon a set of antlers by that same boy – Michael. Those antlers punctured David's body with sickening ease.

She jerked her mouth away from David's but she did not pull away entirely. Her entire face was as white as a ghost's and sweat trickled down the side of her temple. She was shaking like a leaf in his arms.

She couldn't look into his eyes or even at his lips. Instead, she focused on the wounds on his chest. What were the size of quarters had shrunk to the size of dimes, and the scabs were nothing more than irritated pink skin that would soon match the color of the rest of his body. She gripped his shoulders, as if making sure to see that he was still with her, if he was real.

Then Jane mouthed a single word.

_"Vampire."_


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note:** I apologize for the lack of any update. For the past year, real life got hectic for me, and not in the good way, and putting up the last chapter of this story was placed on the back burner. Yes, I did write "last chapter" as this was as far as the story had gotten. However, **XDavien** and I are beyond thrilled at the reception our story received. We continue to write stories with our characters when we are able to, and if you're interested in reading more stories about them, please let us know! A speical thank you goes out to everyone who's left comments here or sent us messages elsewhere!

* * *

><p>Chapter Three<p>

* * *

><p>The force of Jane abruptly ending their kiss and backing away caused David's hand to pull free from her neck, but he kept the other one wrapped around her waist. As their skin-to-skin contact ended, so did the strange feeling David got from it. He opened his eyes to look at her, and almost ducked as a reflex, expecting to get smacked.<p>

Yet there she was, again surprising him. Rather than looking angry, as he expected her to, she looked petrified. David tried to catch her glance, wearing a question on his face. A question of wanting to know what was wrong. Never had he gotten that type of reaction from a kiss.

But she wouldn't look at him. Long lashes obscured the eyes that stayed cast down, fixed on his chest, on the quickly healing wounds there. The word that her lips formed shocked him even more. _**Vampire.**_ How could she have possibly figured that out so soon? He never actually told anybody what he was, not even those that he tried to initiate into the gang. David's mind raced over how she accomplished such a feat. Could she have sensed it or seen it somehow? Was that what the odd pulling sensation was that he felt when he touched her?

Well, shit, no wonder she was so freaked. His free hand glided down her arm and rested at her elbow. David didn't deny her claim; he gave her a slight nod of the head, a small notion, but a confirmation nonetheless. He clenched his jaw, the muscles in his cheeks become pronounced, as he worried. If he wanted to do the opposite of what he normally would, this was a shining example of that. But the choice had been taken out of his hands, not that he ever would have come clean about what he was. David floundered for a moment, feeling like he had been taken out of his element, out of control. He had already figured he was about to lose this anyhow, but he may as well try. How could it hurt at this point? His tone became soft, trying to calm her down, sincerity burned in his eyes.

"I won't harm you."

Jane really had no reason to trust him, but he hoped that she would believe him. That she would know that he very easily could have hurt her already, if those were his intentions. But even if she believed him, he highly doubted that she would be okay with this revelation.

Trying to cease those thoughts, his mind lingered on the how. How she figured it out. "What happened when we touched? Is it how you know what I am?"

"I saw from you," Jane replied, finding her voice after she recovered from her stupor. Easing the grip she had over him, she straightened her back so that she was able to look into David's piercing blue eyes. "I can't ever control it," she went on, "my powers, unless I wear clothes over my exposed skin. I can't ever touch anyone or anything alive without hurting them and seeing into their memories. It's just what I am, what I always have been since I became this way."

Curiously she lifted a hand from his shoulder and she dared to brush her fingertips along the rough stubble on his jaw. She marveled at the way she could touch him like this without hurting him. She couldn't help but start laughing a little, because she continued to feel this exhilarating surge flowing back and forth between him and her and nothing else. No harm, no foul.

"The only time I could safely touch anyone like this was if they were a corpse," Jane stated, knowing this would have sounded creepy to anyone else except maybe to a vampire. "No life or memories to steal, since they're dead. But you, David, if you're not alive, but you're not dead, then it makes sense that this can happen."

She forced herself to stop playing with his face and look into his eyes once more. Though her fingers danced along his upper arm, feeling how cold his skin was compared to hers. She knew the basics about vampires, how they had a supernatural allure to them to compel their human victims and charm them. This went beyond any allure for her, because she could touch him and he would still be all right. She could scream for joy if she could! However, her expression turned business-like, like it had been when she was first tending to his wounds, as she thought back to the last visions she saw right before she broke their kiss.

"What will you do now, David?" she asked him, putting herself and her minor victory over her abilities off to the side momentarily. "Do you have any more family or were those boys - and that girl - were they it?"

David's mind slowly processed the explanation about what she was, the power she possessed. But the sheer closeness of her, the feel of her fingertips moving along his face, was distracting enough to make his mental acuity sluggish.

So, she was some sort of vampire herself. In the sense that she fed off of people's lives, taking in their memories, and leaving them dead. His very own Goldilocks reaper. But this wasn't something she did on purpose or could control, and it wasn't a necessity for her survival, so he understood why it troubled her. Guilt was something he had to let go of in order to not go insane, and to survive as a vampire. Taking others' lives was just something he was required to do and he accepted that. It was what let him be immortal. And that was why Jane was able to touch him without killing him, because of what he was.

Her touch. It was so warm. So comforting. He could hardly believe that she still sat in his lap and was holding onto him. After knowing what he was. That she wasn't out the door or looking for weapons to use against him. He knew that he should be more focused on what this meant, what she was, but all he could think about was how nice it would be to get even closer to her.

At her questions, shadows invaded his thoughts and features. The pain from losing his family and the betrayal surging through him once more. David didn't know just how much she had seen, but it was enough to know that his family had been taken away.

"They were it," he answered at last. "I spent a long, long time alone. The gang, those boys, they were my family. My new family. Suddenly I wasn't alone anymore and it was awesome. But there was still something I thought I was missing. And that girl? Well, I thought I had found someone to join me in eternity. She, however, didn't like that idea so much. I had tried to get her and another to join the family, become one of us."

There was meaning in his eyes, he knew that Jane understood what he was talking about. "They fought it, tried to take us all down in an attempt to be free of the change, I guess. Some of them just wanted us dead for what we are. But I'm not giving up on my brothers. When I'm well enough, I'll try to find them and see if I can bring them back somehow. And now that I have your help, I'll be better quicker."

Playing coy, David tried his best to look angelic as he grinned at her, the smile sounding even in voice. "But I probably will need to stay here with you for a while. I don't think I'm well enough to leave and be on my own."

Jane fixed David with a hard stare. Her mouth tensed with a bit of tightening of her jaw. Him? Stay HERE? On one hand, she knew Maria was going to be away for a few days… Unless she decided to come home early for whatever reason. If that was the case, then they would have to cross that bridge if it came to that. For now, it looked like it would just be David and Jane, alone, in the apartment. On the other hand, most sane people would probably freak out over having a vampire stay with them. Jane was a little different from most people in more ways than one. She was risking herself by remaining this close to David the Vampire. If he wanted to, he could have already drained her of her blood and been done with her. That was, if she hadn't read his thoughts via touch and knew he wasn't going to hurt her. He was needing to heal, but he wouldn't harm her. She sure as hell couldn't throw him out after what was revealed between them.

And the way David was looking at her… He did have such a handsome smile. She could still recall a hint of warmth between their lips when they had kissed.

Squinting her eyes closed, she carefully removed herself from his grasp all together. She climbed off of his lap and got to her feet, where she regained her sight and made her way to the front door. She made sure that the locks were all secured before she turned around and leaned against the door.

"This is just a temporary arrangement," she stated firmly. She tried not to think of when he would have to go out and feed on someone. It was bound to happen sooner or later, after the next sun set, when he would leave, go hunt down a human and drain them – possibly kill them, then come back looking like the fine-looking devil that he was. But he was also same devil whom not only didn't get hurt from her, but more or less accepted her for what she was.

Then after softening her features, Jane said, "Just so you know, I really am sorry for what happened to you and your family."

David curiously watched her walk away, wondering if she was doing so to show him the door. But then the locks clicked into place and he relaxed, happy that they were now locked in with each other and that the action of that was an answer to him staying there.

A temporary arrangement, huh? Well, hopefully them being together wouldn't be temporary; he would do everything in his power to make sure of that. "Don't worry, I'm not lookin' to move in. Not when I have my very own resort. You should see it. It's pretty cool."

Even though the cave didn't have any of the modern luxuries that Jane's home had, he was still very proud of it. It had taken the boys quite a while to decorate it the way they did. Bringing home interesting things that they found on the beach or nicked from the boardwalk.

"Thanks. You and I both." He furrowed his brows at the thought of everything that had transpired with his family. David would get his vengeance and help his brothers. Eventually. But for now? Now he was here with Jane. Recuperating. Everything else could wait.

A shiver running through him, prickling up hair, reminding that he was still half naked. He grabbed his shirt, feeling the tacky blood sticking to his hands from it and looked up at Jane, who was still at the door. He patted the space next to him on the couch. "C'mon, I don't bite."

He then realized the phrase he had just uttered and his lips curved up. "Or at least I won't. Not you." It was actually really refreshing to have her know what he was, to the point that he was already joking about it. He slipped his hands through the armholes of his shirt, still watching her. "Do you have family, or are you alone?"

"Alone," Jane simply replied before she moved away from the door and went through the motions of securing the curtains and blinds closed so that no light could come in when daylight arrived. It wouldn't be just for the living room but for all of the other rooms as well, just in case David didn't feel like restricting himself to just one area if he happened to wake up during the day time. Did all vampires completely sleep throughout the day or did they move around, tossing and turning, like humans would at night? These questions filled her mind and it kept her from dwelling on her own family past. That was another life for her, one she didn't care to reflect on.

She went to Maria's room and fetched a pillow along with a blanket and then returned to the seat that David patted for her earlier, right next to him. She chose to keep a polite distance by placing the pillow and blanket she folded up between them. They were not even an arm's length away but she didn't want to get carried away with the fact that she could touch him and he would be fine, except for his memories. He would be an open book to her and she didn't want to leech off of him in order to learn more about him. For now, she depended on her will power to keep her hands to herself.

"I'll be honest," Jane began as she tucked a lock of her hair behind one of her ears before looking upon the vampire. "I'm not going to be comfortable with you going out to feed on the blood of humans, but I know you have to do it if you want to get better. It's in your nature and I accept it - I don't have a choice. The only thing I ask is that you don't come back looking like a crazed lunatic with blood all over yourself. Maria and I already have a neighbor like that two doors down and we do our best not to run into him - day **_or_ **night."

Such a vague answer, _alone_, but enough for David to know that Jane was in the same boat as he. But maybe they wouldn't need to be anymore, not now that they had found each other. Jane could actually touch him, which meant that she could be with him in a way that she wouldn't be able to be with anyone else she had known (or at least he assumed so.) For a moment he felt jealous of how she could just make contact with him and see so much. Know so much. With just a touch. It wasn't exactly fair. So he resolved himself to insistently question her until he knew everything he wanted to know.

As Jane began to speak he moved the pillow, tucking it next to him against the arm of the couch. He shook the blanket open and put it over both of their laps. It didn't take him any time to break the barrier she had put between them and for him to shift over, comfortably close to her. He did it all in a very nonchalant manner, even though being near her about drove him crazy. He kept thinking of how it would feel to have her warm hands back on him, even if she may see more disturbing things from his past. Jane was taking his vampirism surprising well, even though she wasn't exactly thrilled by it.

"I really didn't think that you d be too into thatm," David said and shrugged a shoulder. "But it's the price for immortality. It's just what I have to do to survive But if it makes it any better, I target certain people. I wouldn't go after a kid or anything. But asshole security guards and surf nazis? I don't have a problem at all with feeding on them."

He actually _**delighted** _in feeding off of those that annoyed him. David gave Jane a smug grin. "Hey, it's like I'm cleaning up the beach, taking out the trash. It's a public service act, really. And that guy you mentioned that's your neighbor? Well, that sounds exactly like someone that I would go after. Especially if he's been bothering you."

It was already almost like she had given him permission to go after the guy by mentioning him. "But you don't have to worry about that tonight. I'm good. Tonight I'm all yours." He mischievously grinned at her again, unable to help himself.

"I should be so lucky," Jane remarked somewhat sarcastically, even though it wasn't every day that a vampire and a, well, whatever she was (she always just thought of herself as cursed) were able to spend the night together. Should she be worried about him possibly draining her dry in her sleep? Or doing the other stereotypical things that vampires did to their living mortal companions? It was possible, but from what she saw in David's mind, she trusted him. She believed him when he said she didn't have to worry about tonight.

_I still have a lot to earn about David but I would rather not steal any more of his memories. Vampires, immortality, death Those people he killed over the years..._

Her mind could go on with thoughts about the justifications of killing others but being so close to David, physically close, made her comfortable. So comfortable that her eyelids began to droop. She was leaning against him, her head resting upon his shoulder, careful not to apply any of her weight upon his still-healing wounds. Her hair fell against her cheek but instead of brushing it off, not wanting to move from beneath the blankets, she kept still. For the first time in years, she was able to truly relax.

Relaxing with a vampire. _Ha!_ How many other people could claim that?

More importantly, who would have imagined that an encounter at Video Max in the dead of night would bring Jane out of her own strange isolation and into a world of the supernatural? Not only that, but she was able to meet the first person who seemingly accepted her for what she was capable of. Before she knew it, she was fast asleep.

David sat with Jane in a comfortable silence. It felt natural to him; to just be with her, not needing to talk. Even though he did want to know more about her, he was feeling exhausted again. That was one of the things he noticed a lot since being impaled; the need for massive quantities of sleep. But he did heal the most while he slept, so that made sense. Extra blood and extra sleep. If there was such a thing as a vampire doctor, David was sure that s what would have been ordered.

Blue eyes glanced over at the blinds, making sure they were now fully closed, and trying to assess what time it was getting to be from the color of the sky behind the shade. It was late. Probably getting closer to morning than night.

Jane's head against his shoulder became heavier and her breathing become slow and slightly louder. He knew before looking that she had fallen asleep. _Poor thing is all tuckered out,_ he thought. Probably wasn't used to staying up so late.

He pushed the stray locks out of her face, brushing his finger along her cheekbone, and felt a pang in his heart at just how much he already liked her. David's eyes traced her face and he wondered how her power worked while she slept. He could feel the same sensation. Would she be dreaming his memories? He frowned for a moment at that; she would probably think they were nightmares. Quickly, he stole a kiss, placing his lips against her forehead before pulling them and his hand away.

He wasn't sure which bedroom was hers, but decided to bring her to one of them to put her to bed (he had also decided to just join her there as he wasn't about to lose this contact any time soon.) But as soon as he tried to pick her up, bride-and-groom style, he winced. Being reminded of his injuries by the pain searing through his back. Instead of picking her up, he shifted them both over a little and moved their legs onto the couch, so that they laid side by side. Her small frame was tucked against the back of the couch and partially on top of him, and he left his arm around her as his head collapsed against the pillow. Almost instantly, David joined her in sleep.

* * *

><p>The End<p> 


End file.
